U.S. patent number 4,860,377 [Application Number 07/201,264] was granted by the patent office on 1989-08-22 for hand scanner input system and a sheet used in hand scanner input system.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba. Invention is credited to Toshinori Ishigaki.
United States Patent |
4,860,377 |
Ishigaki |
August 22, 1989 |
Hand scanner input system and a sheet used in hand scanner input
system
Abstract
A hand scanner input system has a hand scanner. The scanner
scans a medium having an image or images such as characters or
graphic patterns. A mark is printed on this medium or on a
transparent sheet to be placed on the medium. Hence, the mark is
read when the scanner scans the medium. The image and mark read by
the scanner are input to a data processor having a microcomputer.
The microcomputer eliminates overlapping of the pieces of image
data read by the scanner and the displacement of the scanning start
position in accordance with the data representing the mark.
Inventors: |
Ishigaki; Toshinori (Tokyo,
JP) |
Assignee: |
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
(Kawasaki, JP)
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Family
ID: |
16877560 |
Appl.
No.: |
07/201,264 |
Filed: |
June 2, 1988 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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792571 |
Oct 29, 1985 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Oct 30, 1984 [JP] |
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59-228510 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
382/282; 382/313;
235/470; 250/566; 250/568; 358/443; 358/494; 235/472.01 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N
1/107 (20130101); H04N 1/1072 (20130101); H04N
1/047 (20130101); H04N 2201/04787 (20130101); H04N
2201/0426 (20130101); H04N 2201/04734 (20130101); H04N
2201/04791 (20130101); H04N 2201/04729 (20130101); H04N
2201/02439 (20130101); H04N 2201/04731 (20130101); H04N
2201/04789 (20130101); H04N 2201/0422 (20130101); H04N
2201/0471 (20130101); H04N 2201/04794 (20130101); H04N
2201/0472 (20130101); H04N 1/1911 (20130101); H04N
2201/04703 (20130101); H04N 2201/04727 (20130101); H04N
2201/0414 (20130101); H04N 2201/04749 (20130101); H04N
2201/04732 (20130101); H04N 2201/02425 (20130101); H04N
2201/03162 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H04N
1/047 (20060101); H04N 1/107 (20060101); H04N
1/191 (20060101); G06K 009/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;382/9,59,61,65,67
;358/280,282,293,294 ;250/566,568 ;235/470,472,482,483 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Other References
Japanese Patent Abstract, vol. 6, No. 67, Apr. 28, 1982, JP-A-57
7674 to Hozumi..
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Primary Examiner: Boudreau; Leo H.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow,
Garrett, & Dunner
Parent Case Text
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 792,571,
filed Oct. 29, 1985, now abandoned.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A scanner input system, comprising:
a mark having first and second edges which are not parallel, said
mark being continuous;
scanning means for repetitively slice-scanning a document sheet and
said mark in a direction perpendicular to said first edge;
storing means for storing a plurality of data corresponding to the
slice-scanned portions of said mark which are repetitively scanned
by said scanning means; and
data manipulating means for manipulating the data in said storing
means to align a slice-scanned portion of said mark to a prior
slice-scanned portion of said mark such that said first and second
edges do not overlap each other.
2. A scanner input system according to claim 1, wherein said data
manipulating means shifts the data corresponding to the
slice-scanned portion of said mark and the data corresponds to the
slice-scanned portion of the document sheet in the scanning
direction so that the first edge of the slice-scanned portion of
said mark is coincident with the first edge of a prior
slice-scanned portion of said mark to thereby correct start
positions for every slice-scanning, and shifts that data
corresponding to slice-scanned portion of the mark and data
corresponding to the slice-scanned portion of the document sheet in
a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction so that the
width of the slice-scanned portion of a mark is equal to the width
of a prior slice-scanned portion of a mark.
3. A scanner input system according to claim 1 which further
includes ruler means for guiding said scanning means.
4. A scanner input system according to claim 1, wherein said second
edge is not parallel to said first edge.
5. A scanner input system according to claim 1, wherein said second
edge is saw-tooth shaped, said mark being a plurality of triangles
extending along said first edge.
6. A scanner input system according to claim 1, which further
includes:
a tablet having said mark and document sheet disposed thereon;
said scanner having a sensor; and
parallel guidelines printed on said tablet at intervals equal to
the width of the scanning face of the sensor.
7. A scanner input system according to claim 1, wherein said mark
is printed on the document sheet.
8. A scanner input system, comprising:
a mark disposed on a transparent sheet, said mark having first and
second edges which are not parallel, said mark being
continuous;
scanning means for repetitively slice-scanning a document sheet and
said mark in a direction perpendicular to said first edge;
storing means for storing a plurality of data corresponding to the
splice-scanned portions of said mark which are repetitively scanned
by said scanning means; and
data manipulating means for manipulating the data in said storing
means to align a slice-scanned portion of said mark to a prior
slice-scanned portion of said mark such that said first and second
edges do not overlap each other.
9. A transparent sheet according to claim 8, wherein said second
edge is not parallel to said first edge.
10. A transparent sheet according to claim 8, wherein said regular
second edge is saw-tooth shaped, said mark being a plurality of
triangles extending along said first edge.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a hand scanner input system which
reads image data from a recording medium and inputs the data into a
storage means.
With reference to FIG. 1, it will be explained how a conventional
hand scanner reads image data from a document and inputs the data
to a data processor. A document sheet 8 is fixed on a rectangular
tablet 2. Tablet 2 has holes 10 arranged at equal intervals along
its left side. A rail 1 is attached to the left side of tablet 2.
The left end of a ruler 3 is butted on rail 1, and has one through
hole.
The operator slides ruler 3, against the rail to align it with the
lowest line of sheet 8, and secures ruler 3 with respect to tablet
2 by inserting a stopper 9 into one of holes 10 through the hole of
ruler 3. The operator then slides a hand scanner 4 on the edge of
ruler 3 to the left until the scanner contacts rail 1. The operator
then turns the switch 6 of scanner 4 on and manually moves scanner
4 to the right (in the direction of the arrow) along ruler 3. While
being moved in this way, hand scanner 4 scans sheet 8 and
simultaneously detects strobe-generating slits 11 which are cut in
the edge of ruler 3; thus generating image data signals and strobe
pulses. The signals and pulses are supplied from hand scanner 4 to
the data processor (not shown) through signal line 7. When scanner
4 reaches the right side of sheet 8, the one-row area scanning
ends. The operator pulls stopper 9 out and slides ruler 3 upward
along rail 1, bringing ruler 1 into alignment with the next
scanning line of sheet 8.
The operator repeats the sequence of operations stated in the
preceding paragraph to scan all of the row areas of sheet 8 and
input all obtained image data to the data processor (not
shown).
The conventional hand scanner needs the assistance of rail 1 and
ruler 3 to scan document sheet 8. Further, tablet 2 must have hole
10 to align ruler 3 with every row area to be scanned. The whole
system, including rail 1, tablet 2 and ruler 3, as well as hand
scanner 4, is complicated and expensive. Moreover, to bring ruler 3
into alignment with every row area and fasten it to tablet 2 is
cumbersome and time consuming.
The intervals at which holes 10 are arranged are equal to the width
of the scanning surface of hand scanner 4. Hence, when these
intervals are different from the pitch at which characters are
printed on document sheet 8, hand scanner 4 reads the lower half of
each character of one line 12 of sheet 8 in the nth row
area-scanning, and reads the upper half of each character of line
12 in the (n+1)th row area scanning. Even if the intervals are
equal to the character pitch, the same problem will occur when
document sheet 8 is placed on tablet 2 such that the character
lines are not horizontally aligned with holes 10. Consequently, the
characters reproduced from the data read and input by hand scanner
4 are distorted as shown in FIG. 3. When ruler 3 is horizontally
displaced after the nth row-area scanning and before the (n+1)th
scanning, the characters reproduced from the data input by scanner
4 are distorted as shown in FIG. 2. Such distorted characters are
hard to read and understand.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to provide a hand scanner input
system which is simple in structure, is easy to operate and can
input image data of high quality to a data processor.
According to the present invention, there is provided a hand
scanner input system comprising a hand scanner for scanning a
medium to input image data to a data processor, a medium with a
regular mark printed on it, and a ruler for guiding the hand
scanner. The medium is either a document sheet having an image such
as characters or graphic patterns, or a tablet on which such a
document sheet is placed. The regular mark is read for every
slice-scanning of the sheet. Any overlapping input data caused by
the hand scanner at every slice-scanning can be corrected to a high
degree of precision, by the data obtained by reading the mark at
the slice-scanning, thus preventing double input and ultimately
achieving high-quality image data input. A deviation of the start
position for every slice-scanning, if any, can be automatically
corrected by the data the scanner has output by reading the mark at
the slice-scanning. Therefore, the system requires no rail for
determining the scan start position of the scanner. Nor does it
need a stopper or a tablet having holes. The system has a simple
overall structure and yet can perform high-quality data input.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other objects and features of the present invention will be
apparent from the following description, taken in connection with
the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional hand scanner
device;
FIGS. 2 and 3 are examples of the image input by the device of FIG.
1;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the overall configuration of a hand
scanner input system according to one embodiment of the present
invention;
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the hand scanner controller used in
the system of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 illustrates how the hand scanner of the system shown in FIG.
4 scans a document sheet having an image and inputs data from this
image;
FIGS. 7A, 7B and 8 are flow charts explaining the input processing
performed in the system of FIG. 4; FIGS. 9 and 10 are a perspective
view and a plan view, respectively, explaining the means used in
the system of FIG. 4 to attach a mark to a document sheet; and
FIG. 11 is a plan view of a modification of the mark.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments
As shown in FIG. 4, a document sheet 21 having an image (e.g.,
characters and/or graphic patterns) is set on a rectangular tablet
22. A black mark 23 is printed on tablet 22 along the left side
thereof. Mark 23 is tapered, gradually narrowing toward the top of
tablet 22. Horizontal, parallel guide lines 24 are also printed on
tablet 22 at the intervals equal to the read width of the sensor
built within hand scanner 27. A ruler 25 is used to guide hand
scanner 27. Strobe-generating slits 26 are cut in one side of ruler
25. Hand scanner 27 has a switch 29. A line 30 is used to supply
power source voltage to scanner 27 and to supply image data, strobe
pulses and a switch signal from scanner 27 to a data processor (not
shown).
The hand scanner device shown in FIG. 4 is controlled by the
controller shown in FIG. 5. This controller is provided in a host
system. Hand scanner device 40 is coupled to a hand scanner
interface adapter logic 41 by a signal line 30. The input/output
operation of interface adapter logic 41 is controlled by a
micro-computer 42. Microcomputer 42 also controls a display
keyboard unit 45, an external memory device 47 such as a floppy
disk drive 47, and the input/output operation of a host unit
interface adapter 48. The data supplied from hand scanner device 40
is stored in an image input memory 49. A program for controlling
microcomputer 42 is stored in a control program memory 50.
FIG. 6 shows a storage state of the memory 49. In this embodiment,
scanner 27 scans document sheet 21 from bottom to top. Hence, the
operator first aligns ruler 25 with the lower end 51 of document
sheet 21 for the first row-area scanning, and moves hand scanner 27
from the left side of sheet 21 to the right side. Scanner 27
generates strobe pulses and image data which are fed through signal
line 30 to hand scanner interface adapter logic 41. The image data
is then stored in a temporary memory area 52. After the image data
stored in the temporary memory area 52 is processed as described
below, the image data in the area 52 are sent to the first area of
the image input memory 49. Then, the operator slides ruler 25
upward, aligning it with the lowest guide line 24, and moves hand
scanner 27 from the left side of sheet 21 to the right side, thus
performing the second row-area scanning. As a result, the image
data obtained by this scanning is stored in the temporary memory
area 52 and sent to the second area of the image input memory
49.
The operator carries out further row-area scannings, aligning ruler
25 with all other guide lines 24 and repeatedly move scanner 27
along lines 24, thus reading all of the image data from sheet 21
and supplying it to memory 49. In FIG. 6, lines 60, 61 and 63 are
horizontal boundary lines defining address areas corresponding to
the row-area scanning regions of sheet 21. Horizontal, parallel
lines 62 and 64 define a memory area into which the image data will
be transferred from temporary memory area 52. The width Y of that
portion of mark 23 which is stored in the temporary memory area 52
is identical with the width of that portion of black mark 23 which
is stored in the memory area defined by lines 62 and 64. For
example, the width 53 is identical with the width 54.
FIGS. 7A and 7B are flow charts explaining the detection and
comparison of the widths of portions of black mark 23. FIG. 8 is a
flow chart explaining how to align pieces of data obtained by the
row-area scannings, in accordance with the data provided by the
detection of the widths of the portions of mark 23.
It will be explained how the system described above operates to
read and input the image data from a document sheet 21 of A4 size
which is 197 mm long, when strobe pulse-generating slits 26 are
arranged at intervals of 1 mm. In this case, hand scanner 27
generates one strobe pulse and 1 byte image data every time it is
moved 1 mm along ruler 25.
First, th operator aligns ruler 25 with any guide line 24 printed
on tablet 22. The operator then turns on the switch 29 of hand
scanner 23. Scanner 27 supplies a scanning start signal to
microcomputer 42 through line 30 and adaptor logic 41. The operator
moves scanner 27 from a position to the left of black mark 23 to
the right side of sheet 21, thus carrying out a row-area scanning.
(The scanning start position must be to the left of mark 23.) The
strobe pulses and image data read by this scanning are supplied to
microcomputer 42. The image data is stored in the temporary memory
area 52, byte by byte, by repeating the data processing routine
consisting of steps 70-74 shown in FIG. 7A.
In this routine, decision is made, in step 70, as to whether or not
switch 29 is on. If yes, the control advances to step 71. If not,
step 70 is repeated. Since switch 29 has been turned on, step 71 is
executed, determining whether or not a strobe pulse has been input.
If yes, the control goes to the next step 72. If not, step 71 is
repeated. Since strobe pulses have been input, the first byte of
the image data obtained by said slice-scanning is stored at the
first address of temporary memory area 52. (In FIG. 7A, m denotes
the address of area 52 and its initial value represents the first
address, and n denotes the maximum number of bytes that can be
obtained by one row-area scanning.) In step 73, every time a byte
is input m is incremented by one and n is decremented by one. In
the next step, 74, decision is made as to whether or not n=0. If
yes, the control goes to step 75. If not, steps 71-73 are repeated
until n is reduced to zero, thereby storing the whole image data
obtained by the row-area scanning in temporary memory area 52.
As shown in FIG. 6, the data representing the portions of black
mark 23 is stored at the addresses of memory 49, which are
schematically defined by lines 60, 61 and 63.
When "n=0" is detected in step 74, the data processing routine
shown in FIG. 8 is carried out to align the left side of mark 23
stored in temporary memory area 52 with the left side of the mark
stored in the addresses of memory 49. First, in step 82,
microcomputer 42 reads the first byte from the subaddress A of area
52. In step 83, this byte is shifted to the left, bit by bit. In
the next step 84, decision is made as to whether or not a logical
"1" bit has been read to microcomputer 42. If yes, the control
advances to step 88. If not, it goes to step 85. In step 85, one
bit is taken from the bits, the number of which corresponds to the
distance R between the scanning start position and the left side of
mark 23 printed on tablet 22. In the next step 86, it is judged
whether or not one byte has been shifted to the left. If yes, the
control goes to step 87. If not, it returns to step 83. In step 83,
the second byte stored in the subaddress A is designated, and the
control returns to step 82. Steps 82-87 are repeated until a
logical "1" bit is detected, thereby detecting the left side of
mark 23 stored in area 52. The control, therefore, advances to step
88. In this step, the bits, the number of which corresponds to the
value (R-l) and which stored in subaddresses B and C of area 52,
are shifted to the left. (The symbol "1" is the distance between
the left side of mark 23 stored in the addresses of memory 49 and
the left side of mark 23 stored in these subaddresses.
When l is greater than R, it suffices to shift the bits, the number
o which corresponds to (l-R), to the right. Any value can be used
for "lpe H 48603658.002 "
The image data obtained by the row-area scanning and stored in area
52 is thus changed to the form shown in the upper half of FIG.
6.
Subaddresses A, B and C of temporary memory area 52 have a length
of 197 bytes plus several bytes. (The number of these additional
bytes corresponds to the longest possible distance between the
scanning start position and the left side of sheet 21.)
The pieces of image data obtained by repeating slice-scanning are
not stored in the consecutive addresses of memory 49. They are
stored in those addresses designated by hand scanner interface
adapter logic 41 or microcomputer 42. More specifically, the image
data is transferred from temporary image area 52 to the address of
memory 49, designated by the following data processing routine.
When step 75 is carried out, the control goes to step 76, shown in
FIG 7A. In this step, X is compared with width Y of the mark stored
in area 52. Here, X represents the width of mark 23 included in the
image data obtained by the immediately preceding slice-scanning and
stored in the area defined by lines 61 and 63 (FIG. 6). The control
goes to step 77 (FIG. 7B). In step 77, decision is made as to
whether or not (X-1) is equal to or greater than Y. (The term "-1"
in (X"1) represents a width difference of one dot.) When (X-1) is
greater than Y, this means that there is a space between the two
scanned regions. When (X-1) is equal to Y, this means that these
regions are neither overlapping nor spaced apart. If yes in step
77, the control goes to step 81, and if no, it advances to step
78.
In the case shown in FIG. 6, line 63 extends horizontally,
separating the row of characters into upper and lower portions.
That is, the image data obtained by scanning the region below line
31 shown in FIG. 4 is stored in the area defined by line 61 and 63
(FIG. 6). When the region of sheet 21, which is defined by lines 32
and 33, is scanned, those portions of the characters which are
located above line 31 will be input. Since (X-1) is less than width
Y, the control advances to step 78. In this step, it is judged
whether or not (Y-1) is equal to (X-1). If yes, the control goes to
step 80. If not, step 79 will be executed. Since (Y-1) is greater
than (X-1), step 79 is executed. In step 79, the distance P between
lines 62 and 63 (FIG. 6) is incremented. Steps 78 and 79 are
repeated until (Y-1) becomes equal to (X-1).
When it is detected in step 78 that (Y-1) equals (X-1), the control
goes to step 80. In step 80, the image data is transferred from
temporary memory area 52 to the memory area defined by lines 62 and
64, and the data, which has been stored in the area defined by
lines 62 and 63, is simultaneously erased.
FIGS. 9-11 show another embodiment of the present invention. As
shown in FIG. 9, a transparent sheet 91 with a black mark 92
printed on it is used to read and input the data of an entire page
of a book, or the data of part of the page. To read and input the
data printed on a portion defined by rectangle ABCD, the operator
places sheet 91 on the page, covering said portion ABCD. The
operator, then manipulates hand scanner 27 to thus perform the
slice-scanning in the same way as in the first embodiment. The
strobe pulses and pieces of image data obtained by the repeated
slice-scannings are input to a hand scanner controller. The pieces
of image data are processed in the same manner as in the first
embodiment and then stored in the addresses of an image input
memory.
FIG. 11 shows a modification 100 of the black mark. This mark 100
is saw-tooth shaped, consisting of right-angled triangles. The data
representing these triangles is stored at the addresses of an image
input memory as in the first embodiment. The number of dots
corresponding to the width of mark 100 changes much more according
to the slice lines than in the first and second embodiments. Hence,
the saw-tooth shaped mark helps to enhance the precision of input
data.
In the above embodiment, the present invention has been applied to
a hand scanner input system. However, the present invention is not
limited to the above embodiment. For example, the present invention
can also be applied to a mechanical scanner having poor mobility
and equally poor accuracy, to thereby obtain the same advantage as
that of the above embodiment.
* * * * *